O.K., rage is a little too much, but faced with the crush of planned density, neighborhoods from Laurelhurst to the far reaches of the Eastside are preparing for the worst. In two communities, the stakes are high. Should Magnolia accept the idea of a new city prison at its borders -- my guess is, not! Should the folks living on the blue edge of Waterway 1 Seattle, accept a state agency's notion that more public access is necessary. My guess is, not!

This is not NIMBYism as much as it is a sense of survival. Altruism belongs to governments and not necessarily need be asked of neighborhoods, holding on to their community in the face of more taxes, more density, less say in the coming re-planning of the Puget Sound region.

For a podcast on my Sunday, May 11 column, "The neighborhods cry, Leave us alone!" see below.
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Q&A with Jim Vesely | The neighborhoods cry, "Leave us alone!"

Michael Kinsley, writing in Time, here, presents an argument for genetic discrimination by insurers. He backs away from it; he doesn't like the odor of it. But the logic of it is compelling. Insurance is a kind of organized betting. When you buy health insurance, you bet that you will get sick and the insurer bets you won't. If the insurer has information that you're more likely to get a certain illness, why is it "unfair" to roll that fact into the price?

The hunt is on for superdelegates. Sen. Barack Obama landed a previously undeclared delegate from Washington, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen of Arlington, Snohomish County. Who is next from our state?

During today's mid-day radio interview on public radio, a young and perceptive reporter from The Stranger was giving an on-site discussion of the Oregon presidential primary. Goes to show you even the best of us are sometimes mistaken, because listeners were perplexted by the repeated reference from the Stranger's reporter about being on the green, Eugene campus of Oregon State University.

The moderator cleared it up in the last seconds of the broadcast. No doubt the sound of ducks outside the studio became too much to ignore.

How many readers believe the U.S. economy is in the midst of a recession? That's right, not on the way but already here.

New memorials in the nation's capitol often clash over politics and aesthetics. But here's something that takes the cake. A proposed sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr. is being rejected because King's upright posture, folded arms and unsmiling face is considered too confrontational. It likely didn't help that at 28 feet, the King statue would be an imposing eight feet taller than the statute of Abraham Lincoln. Gazing up at a towering, stern King, visions of a fiery Rev. Wright likely danced in a few heads.

Are ideas and theories as important as democracy resilient enough to survive the free market? I address that question in my column today. I wrote the column off of a Tuesday U.S. House subcommittee hearing the Internet Freedom and Preservation Act of 2008. The bill places nondiscrimination language into the Communications Act of 1934. Essentially, the new provisions would not allow network providers like Comcast from blocking or degrading legal content on the Internet.

Before the hearing began nearly all the Republicans on the subcommittee said that the Internet does not need a net neutrality law because the free market will ensure that the platform remains open and assessable to all. I strongly disagree with that argument and say as much in my column. The Internet has become the conduit through which ideals of freedom are spread, discussed, disputed, and embraced. Free thought will stagnate if there are not some government assurances that network providers will not get in the way.

Click below for a Q&A discussion of this column.

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Washington's oldest and newest industries are heading up efforts to counter some of the presidential campaign's anti-trade rhetoric, especially when it comes to the United State's pending Korea Trade Agreement.

Microsoft and Washington Farm Bureau are co-chairing the newly formed Washington State/U.S.-Korea
Free Trade Agreement Coalition.

While anti-trade rhetoric gets traction in America's rustbelt, it is toxic to Washington state where one in three jobs is related to trade. And Korea poses great opportunities for Washington industry, whether its software or potatoes exports.

Representing Microsoft is Dorothy Dwoskin, senior director of GlobalTrade Policy and Strategy, and from the farm bureau is Patrick Connor, national affairs director.

Their leadership comes none too soon as the United States' pending trade agreements have become targets in the superheated presidential election campaigns. Both Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are promising to retreat from the United States' efforts develop markets for U.S. products through trade agreements.

Kathleen Connors, president of the Washington Council on International Trade, notes that Korea was the state's 5th largest trading partner in 2007.

Trade is getting a bad rap, especially considering that international trade is one of the few bright spots in a flagging economy.